Some “science articles” also introduce the anti-cancer mechanism of various vegetables in detail, with colorful terminology and smallpox, which is not to be believed. Are vegetables really so amazing? Vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and many kinds of bioactive phytochemical factors, so eating more vegetables is indeed beneficial to prevent and fight against cancer. In 2012, the American Cancer Society published “Guidelines for Nutrition and Exercise for Cancer Survivors”, stating that “eating more nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits may be beneficial in preventing certain types of tumors, reducing recurrence rates, and improving survival rates”. However, it also states that “it is not clear exactly which components of fruits and vegetables are most protective for tumor patients” and there is no clear evidence to confirm that any one vegetable can prevent the development of specific tumors. Therefore, the Guidelines do not recommend one or a few vegetables, but rather suggest that people consume a wide variety of colored vegetables and fruits every day. For tumor patients, the Guide also encourages them to drink at least 2 to 3 glasses of vegetable juice and 1.5 to 2 glasses of fruit juice (without limiting the types) daily. Since no vegetable is a specific tumor killer, and since the anti-cancer mechanism of vegetables is not clear, what is the reason for the many popular and well-reported posts? For example, there is a post that says: “The sulfur glucoside glucosides contained in cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower and cauliflower can induce the production of an enzyme with detoxification effect in the body. Regular consumption can prevent the occurrence of stomach, lung, and esophageal cancers.” The seemingly scientific terminology, clear and explicit mechanism, and pleasing results only unfortunately do not stand up to scrutiny. Through the search, we can easily learn the following knowledge: “Thioglucoside” is the general name of a group of sulfur-containing compounds in cruciferous plants, which can produce hot and spicy smell through chemical reaction when plant tissues are damaged, so as to defend against fungus, insects, etc. Its hydrolysis product “isothiocyanate” is found to be able to prevent the development of lung cancer and esophageal cancer. The hydrolysis product “isothiocyanate” was found to reduce carcinogenic intermediates and inhibit tumor formation. The problem seems to be solved. Isn’t this the scientific proof that “cauliflower is anti-cancer”? The so-called “dose aside to talk about the medicinal properties are rogues”, relevant research shows that to achieve anti-cancer activity in humans, the intake of “isothiocyanates” should reach at least 200-400mg, which is equivalent to how much cauliflower to eat? The answer is: how much is not enough to eat. According to the calculation, each 100g of cauliflower contains about 11.7-78.6mg of “thioglucoside”, and the average loss rate after cooking is 36%, while the content of “isothiocyanate”, the anti-cancer ingredient we need, is almost zero after cooking. In fact, the current evidence for the anti-cancer effects of isothiocyanates and cruciferous vegetables comes largely from cellular and animal studies, where the doses of the compounds used are several orders of magnitude above the normal levels of these substances in the human diet. Therefore, the idea that “isothiocyanates are anti-cancer” in the laboratory does not directly translate into the conclusion that “eating cauliflower is anti-cancer”. What’s more, the anti-cancer effect of this compound itself is still controversial. We have all heard of the story of “Yugong Yishan”. Yugong led his children and grandchildren to reclaim the soil by knocking on the rocks, intending to level the two mountains of Taihang and Wangwu, and thought, “There is no limit to the number of children and grandchildren, but the mountains will not increase, so why suffer and not level?” This reasoning sounds good, but specifically in practice does not have operability, if not the spirit of the gods, the result is bound to be “to the remaining years of power, had not been able to destroy the mountain a hair”. Similarly, eating a few mouthfuls of cauliflower and consuming a very small amount of substances that are theoretically good for fighting cancer is also “unable to destroy one hair of cancer” for tumors. Regarding “vegetables against cancer”, we can summarize it this way: daily intake of a wide variety of vegetables is indeed beneficial to prevent and fight against cancer, but its mechanism is still unclear, and no vegetable has been clearly proven to prevent specific tumors. In conclusion, we encourage everyone to eat more vegetables and let science, not rumors, dominate our dinner table.